Next Up: PSLV-C49 with Spire and Kleos

Our next mission is coming up this weekend! The 51st mission of India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C49), will launch from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota. The launch is tentatively scheduled for November 7, subject to weather conditions.

Onboard will be four smallsats from Kleos Space and four from Spire. The Kleos 6U satellites make up the company’s Scouting Mission, which will be foundational in its radio frequency monitoring constellation. The smallsats are the cornerstone of a 20-system constellation that will geolocate VHF transmissions from marine vessels to provide global activity-based intelligence data as a service. The four Spire Global Lemur-2 3U cubesats will add to its robust constellation of small, inexpensive satellites in operation for Earth observation, maritime monitoring, communications, meteorology and science.

As always, launching during the COVID era is always challenging, but our team was able to get to India, quarantine and get the spacecraft ready for flight. End-to-end mission services don’t stop for COVID – we do whatever it takes to get our customers on orbit.

Tune in early Saturday morning for liftoff!